


The Phone Call

by wheel_pen



Series: Miscellaneous X-Men First Class Stories [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-27 00:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7595800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheel_pen/pseuds/wheel_pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1960s Erik transported through time and with amnesia calls modern Charles (Patrick Stewart) for help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Phone Call

**Author's Note:**

> The bad words are censored; that’s just how I do things. I own nothing and appreciate the chance to play in this universe.

 

Charles did not know of anyone with a mutation that allowed them to grade literature essays quickly, but with comprehension and accuracy. Some things still just took time, though fortunately he could also split his concentration to roam through the mansion and grounds, soothing troubled sleep and checking that all was as it should be.

The ringing phone startled him (he could not predict when it would go off, though one of his students could, based on electrical signals he suspected) and he picked it up right away, assuming that a call this late would be some sort of problem. “Xavier,” he responded. “Hello?” he added, when no one answered.

“ _Hi_ ,” said an uncertain voice. “ _I was told to call you. Who is this?_ ”

Charles thought he recognized it, yet that seemed impossible. “Erik?” he asked, prepared to feel foolish.

“ _You’re Erik?_ ” the man asked, confusion mingled with frustration. Charles pinged Scott and Jean awake.

“No, I’m Charles Xavier,” Charles clarified smoothly. “Who are you?”

“ _Do you know me?_ ” the man demanded, and Charles smiled slightly at his combative nature—some things never changed.

“Your voice sounds familiar to me, but I can’t quite place it,” Charles claimed. “What’s your name?”

“ _I don’t know_ ,” the man admitted after a pause. He was understandably troubled by this. “ _I’m in some weird place with futuristic technology, I can’t remember anything, and someone gave me your number and said I should call you. A phone call costs fifty cents!_ ” he added in aggravation. “ _Why the h—l is it so expensive? I see why there aren’t many payphones here, no one can afford to make calls!_ ”

Scott and Jean appeared at his office door and Charles put the call on speakerphone. “Are you still there?” he prompted.

“ _Yes, I’m still here_ ,” the man responded. “ _Who are you? Where am I? What’s going on?_ ”

“Those are all very good questions,” Charles agreed soothingly. “If you can at least tell me where you are, I can send someone to pick you up, and we’ll see what we can figure out.”

He should have predicted that the man would pull back at this. “ _I don’t—Who are you, and why should I trust you?_ ” he wanted to know.

Charles tried to play it as if this was just another frightened and confused mutant who had reached out for help, longing to trust but burned by experience. He closed his eyes, concentrating on trying to locate the man on the other end of the phone—with Cerebro he could do it easily, but a familiar mind calling out for help was not so difficult unaided. “I think I do recognize your voice,” he stalled. “You might be someone I know named Erik. Does that sound familiar?”

“ _You said that before_ ,” the man remembered. “ _How do we know each other?_ ”

“We’ve known each other for years, but unfortunately we had a falling out,” Charles continued evenly. He saw Jean begin to intuit who he was talking to and whisper to Scott. “Who told you to call me?”

“ _I don’t know_ ,” Erik—because Charles was certain that was who this was—repeated in frustration. “ _It was some old guy_ —“

Charles couldn’t help the quick smile that ghosted over his face. This wasn’t merely Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto—he strongly suspected this was Erik Lehnsherr from _another time_ , some decades ago at least. Time travel _and_ disorientation, but unlikely to be an accident, if he’d been put in contact with Charles.

“Erik, I think I know where to find you,” Charles continued steadily. “I’m going to—“

“ _How?_ ” Erik demanded suspiciously. “ _I’m outside some diner in—well, America, somewhere. Possibly New England._ ”

“I’ll explain when you get here,” Charles demurred. “I’m going to send a friend to pick you up.” Jean had already alerted Kurt, and Charles relayed Erik’s location to him. The teleporter’s mind winked off in the mansion, and back on miles away.

“ _Holy s—t!_ ” Erik exclaimed on the phone, startling the listeners.

“Calm down, Erik—“

“ _This guy, he just appeared out of nowhere, and he’s blue and he_ has a f-----g tail!” Erik sputtered, and Charles rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“Yes,” he agreed. “His name is Kurt. He’s a friend. He’ll transport you here. Do you feel comfortable going with him?”

A slight hint of patronizing might have come through Charles’s tone, force of habit really as he remembered younger Erik’s hot-headedness. This did seem to do the trick, though, as Erik took it as a challenge.

“ _You better have a good f-----g explanation for this_ ,” he warned, before hanging up. Unfortunately, Charles did not.


End file.
